Eleven-year-old Tyler Armstrong is gearing up to become the youngest person to climb Mt. Everest, the world's highest mountain. He wakes up every morning and fills his backpack with bags of rice and walks on a incline treadmill to simulate some of the trek's stresses.

In 2013, then nine-year-old Tyler Armstrong, poses for a portrait with his father Kevin as they arrive to a hotel in Mendoza, Argentina. Tyler reached the summit of Aconcagua mountain on Christmas Eve with his father Kevin and a Tibetan sherpa, Lhawang Dhondup, making him the youngest person in recorded history to reach the summit.

In 2012, 8-year-old Tyler Armstrong fills his backpack to help him train for his climb up 19,336-foot Mount Kilimanjaro with his father in June.

In 2012, then eight-year-old Tyler Armstrong trains to become the second youngest person to climb to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Seven-year-old Tyler Armstrong trains in the backyard of his Yorba Linda home to climb Mount Whitney.

In 2011, then 7-year-old Tyler Armstrong trained by running three or four miles around a lake near his home. He and his father climbed Mount Whitney in July 2011.

Running through his Yorba Linda neighborhood was part of then 8-year-old Tyler Armstrong's training in 2012, when he was preparing for his trip to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

In 2013, then 9-year-old Tyler Armstrong stands by a cross on the summit of Aconcagua Mountain in Argentina.

In 2013, Kevin Armstrong, right, takes a picture of his then 9-year-old son Tyler on the the summit of Aconcagua mountain in Argentina. Tyler became the youngest person in recorded history to reach the summit when he reached it on Christmas Eve with his father and a Tibetan sherpa, Lhawang Dhondup.

In 2011, then seven year-old Tyler Armstrong and father Robert prepare to climb Mount Whitney in July.

In 2011, then 7-year-old Tyler Armstrong works out on a treadmill for 45 minutes, three days a week in preparation for his upcoming attempt to climb Mount Whitney.

In 2012, then 8-year-old Tyler Armstrong trains on a treadmill at home in Yorba Linda for his upcoming trip to climb the 19,336-foot Mount Kilimanjaro with his father, Kevin.

Eleven-year-old Tyler Armstrong is gearing up to become the youngest person to climb Mt. Everest, the world's tallest mountain. Tyler has been training five to seven days a week to conquer the 29,000 feet of the Himalayan peak. But breaking records is nothing new for Tyler. At age 7, he became the youngest person to climb Mt. Whitney in a day. At age 8, he became the second youngest person to make it to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. At age 9, he was the youngest to summit Mount Aconcagua in Argentina. In August, he conquered the more than Mt. Elbrus in Russia.

Eleven-year-old Tyler Armstrong is gearing up to become the youngest person to climb Mt. Everest, the world's highest mountain. He wakes up every morning and fills his backpack with bags of rice and walks on a incline treadmill to simulate some of the trek's stresses.

Tyler Armstrong does exercises to strengthen his legs and core.

Eleven-year-old Tyler Armstrong is gearing up to become the youngest person to climb Mt. Everest, the world's highest mountain. He wakes up every morning and fills his backpack with bags of rice and walks on a incline treadmill to simulate some of the trek's stresses.

Eleven-year-old Tyler Armstrong is gearing up to become the youngest person to climb Mt. Everest, the world's tallest mountain. Tyler has been training five to seven days a week to conquer the 29,000 feet of the Himalayan peak. But breaking records is nothing new for Tyler. At age 7, he became the youngest person to climb Mt. Whitney in a day. At age 8, he became the second youngest person to make it to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. At age 9, he was the youngest to summit Mount Aconcagua in Argentina. In August, he conquered the more than Mt. Elbrus in Russia.

Eleven-year-old Tyler Armstrong is gearing up to become the youngest person to climb Mt. Everest, the world's tallest mountain. Tyler has been training five to seven days a week to conquer the 29,000 feet of the Himalayan peak. But breaking records is nothing new for Tyler. At age 7, he became the youngest person to climb Mt. Whitney in a day. At age 8, he became the second youngest person to make it to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. At age 9, he was the youngest to summit Mount Aconcagua in Argentina. In August, he conquered the more than Mt. Elbrus in Russia.

Tyler Armstrong does exercises to strengthen his legs and core.

Eleven-year-old Tyler Armstrong is gearing up to become the youngest person to climb Mt. Everest, the world's highest mountain. He wakes up every morning and fills his backpack with bags of rice and walks on a incline treadmill to simulate some of the trek's stresses.

In 2012, then eight-year-old Tyler Armstrong, left, and father Kevin, hold a banner for CureDuchenne, the organization for which Tyler hiked the 19,336-foot Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money and awareness.

To conquer Mount Everest in the spring, Tyler will need to be on the mountain for six weeks while weathering the Himalayas’ subzero temperatures.

“I’m really excited that I can actually go to Mount Everest, experience the mountain and get to the summit,” said Tyler, a sixth grader at Glenknoll Elementary School whose passion for summiting peaks was awakened by a documentary on hiking.

If he is successful, Tyler will be one mountain closer to completing his ambitious goal to be the youngest person to trek the Seven Summits – the tallest mountain on each continent – and to raise $1 million toward finding a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. He has already raised about $25,000 for research.

The fatal genetic disorder, which primarily affects boys, causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. More than 300,000 boys worldwide have the disease, according to CureDuchenne, a Newport Beach organization dedicated to funding treatment research.

Tyler’s efforts to help children suffering from Duchenne started after he climbed Mount Whitney and met a boy with the disease.

“I asked my parents why couldn’t this kid walk,” Tyler said, adding that it was difficult to hear about the disease and how the boys affected can’t walk, run or climb mountains.

Everest will be Tyler’s fourth summit and his father, Kevin, a licensed emergency medical technician, will be with him every step of the way.

“If he wasn’t so dedicated I don’t think we would support him as much because it is a very expensive and time-consuming sport,” Kevin Armstrong, 42, said. “He has shown so much motivation over the years.”

Kevin Armstrong estimates that the trek of Mount Everest will cost about $160,000 and for Tyler to climb the Seven Summits about $500,000.

“Fortunately he has gotten sponsors, donations and gear,” Kevin said. “He has been lucky enough to have people that support him.”

On weekdays, Tyler wakes up at 6 a.m. to jog on a treadmill carrying a 30-pound backpack he fills with rice bags. In the evenings he does strength training.

He has been taking ascent classes with Recreational Equipment Inc. at Mount Baldy to master using ice axes and crampons – a metal plate of spikes attached to a boot for walking on ice. He trains with professional guides and his next big practice climb will be in Ecuador over Christmas break.

His mother, Priscilla, a pediatric neuropsychologist at Kaiser Permanente in Anaheim, and his younger brother, Dylan, will accompany Tyler and Kevin on the trip to Ecuador.

Priscilla Armstrong said she worries about the dangers of Mount Everest’s 29,000-foot climb and initially was adamant that he wasn’t going to do it, but his professional team said that he was ready for the summit.

“I decided that I didn’t want to be the dream squelcher, and I didn’t want him to become an adult that says ‘I could’ve climbed Mount Everest, but my mom said I couldn’t do it,’” she said.

Tyler’s parents describe him as a normal kid at home who gets into occasional fights with his younger brother and is easily distracted, but on the mountain he is mature and focused.

“You watch him on a mountain and he is more like an adult than a child,” Kevin Armstrong said.

Kevin Armstrong said he is hopeful Tyler, who will be 12 when he sets out to conquer Mount Everest in April and May, will be issued a permit to climb.

“It’s definitely going to be a challenge, but there’s been an indication that they will grant Tyler a permit because of what he’s done,” Kevin Armstrong said. “But they don’t issue permits until you get there.”

Tyler, an honor student, will miss school while he is on Mount Everest, but he will have a tutor with him to help him stay on top of his homework and will do his science experiment on the mountain.

Denisse Salazar covered the cities of Placentia and Yorba Linda for the Orange County Register. Over the years, she also covered crime, courts, human trafficking and breaking news, such as team coverage of Orange County’s worst mass killing, which won first place in online breaking news from the California Newspaper Publishers Association (2011). Salazar has won awards from the Orange County Press Club. She graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a bachelor's degree in communications with an emphasis in journalism and a minor in Spanish. She earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from USC.

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